Why You’ll Resist Making a Lead Magnet for Your Website
Look, I get it. Lead magnets can feel incredibly annoying when you’re bopping around the internet.
Pop-ups. Windows. Deals. Discounts. Everyone wants to get you to give them your email address.
They look like artificial barriers to connecting with you or a gimmick you deploy to get leads.
As a business owner who’s considering making one for your own website you might understand the concept of a funnel, but honestly… you🤞 hope making one is optional and that you can succeed without it.
The truth is that all these lead magnets that annoyed you? They did their job too—at weeding you OUT.
All they did was present you with a choice to engage or not. And even if you opted out of most of them, I’m sure every once and a while you come across a cool webinar, discount, or promo that’s just too good to pass up. <—That’s the point of a good lead magnet. To capture those who can’t pass you up.
In summary, lead magnets are highly effective at:
helping you identify website visitors who are truly interested in what you have to offer,
providing concrete data on what your prospective customers are interested in, and
nurturing a real relationship with potential customers (source)
(That’s why I build out freebies and lead magnets for all of my custom website clients!)
Ready to try brainstorming a good lead magnet?
Here are a few examples of good freebie ideas:
✅ PDFs with more info (menus, production process, price sheet, “5 Top Tips for…”)
🎶 Audio & video recordings (meditations, song samples, yoga sequences)
🤓 Mini email series or “challenges” (teaching them something)
📺 Interviews, access to playlists or pre-recorded webinars
🙌 Free 15-minute consult (this takes up your time, but your ideal client will LOVE this option)
💸 Discounts & coupon codes for product-based businesses also work really well!
When you’re creating your freebie, consider these points:
Make sure you solve a real pain point. Your freebie doesn’t have to be complex, but make sure you’re serving a real need of your ideal audience.
Give visitors a quick win, but don’t water down your process or message. If the solution actually takes time, give them solutions to steps 1-3 out of 5, and offer a 15-minute call once they’ve likely seen results
Illuminate a perspective for them they haven’t thought of before. I love providing a new angle on a topic they worry about to help show why you’re different and what you provide.
Always provide a “next step” inside of the freebie itself. Make it a bit more high stakes, like a paid offering that solves a bigger problem or an invitation for them to set up a call with you.
Continue relationship-building afterwards with a warm welcome series. People who take the time to download your freebie are probably interested in learning more about you, your business, and what you offer. Don't be afraid to keep reaching out with an automated set of emails introducing them to your company.
Once you make a good freebie that solves a real problem, you can also send it to people when they ask you that inevitable question about "how to solve XYZ?" issue. That means it'll save you time while also providing a high quality service and response to people.
Regardless of my business size, one thing that’s always been useful for me to have is a “freebie” or “lead magnet” – AKA some kind of digital product that gives my site visitors a chance to try out my products or services for free.
I’m curious, what kinds of freebies do you love the most as you navigate other people's websites?
Any that you really dislike or find annoying? I’d love to hear from you what’s been genuinely valuable and helped you solve a real problem.
